Lack courage

To the Editor:

Our local politicians will not solve the problem of gun proliferation and violence because they lack courage and creativity. For example, state Rep. Mike Tryon sounded like he was reading from prescribed talking points when he stated the well-known bromide, “If you take away guns from the nonviolent people, then only the violent people have them.” (Northwest Herald, Dec. 28.)

In the same article, state Rep. Jack Franks said, “The bad guys are the ones with the guns.” “Bad guys?” I thought Al Capone was a “bad guy.” I thought the recently deceased Frank Calabrese was a “bad guy.”

Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, James Holmes and Adam Lanza? Just angry white guys with access to guns. Not identifiable “bad guys” until they made awful choices and teamed up with guns that made them famous.

“Bad guys?” They had no rap sheets. Maybe they were weird or geeky, smart or shy, depressed or broken, but it would have been hard to tell those young fellows from the rest of us until one horrible day.

If our local politicians had an original idea, that would be refreshing. But a solution, never.